Space Travel Hazards

Traveling in space is a dangerous proposition under the best circumstances, and travel through Hyperspace carries its own set of perils. Ordinarily, the Gamemaster chooses where in a Starship's journey a mishap occurs, and, thus, just how far away the ship is from any hope of rescue or assistance.

Space Travel Hazards can arise when a Starship is Disabled because of a poorly plotted Hyperspace course (See Astrogation). The Gamemaster can use the following table to determine exactly what mishap befalls the vessel. The Gamemaster should roll a d20 to determine the severity of the Hazard, then another d20 to determine a specific mishap.

D20 ROLL

HAZARD

MISHAP

1-8

MINOR (D20 ROLL)

1-8

The Starship passes through an uncharted dust cloud, clogging sensors and communications equipment. The Use Sensors application of the Use Computer Skill takes a -5 penalty for every 5 squares between the user and the sensor target (Instead of the usual -5 per 10 squares penalty).

9-14

The Starship encounters space debris, setting off a collision alarm. The Pilot must make a DC 15 Pilot check to Avoid Collision with a Huge piece of debris; the DC increases by 1 for each round between the alarm sounding and the Pilot check.

15-18

The Starship approaches a gravity field too quickly, causing structural stress. The Starship's Armor bonus is reduced by 1 until all Persistent Conditions are removed.

19-20

The Starship passes too close to a supernova, overloading computer systems with solar radiation. Use Computer checks aboard the Starship take a -5 penalty until all Persistent Conditions are removed.

9-14

MODERATE (D20 ROLL)

1-8

The Starship passes through a dense, uncharted dust cloud, clogging sensors and communications equipment. The Use Sensors application of the Use Computer Skill takes a -5 penalty for every 2 squares between the user and the sensor target (Instead of the usual -5 per 10 squares penalty).

9-14

The Starship encounters an uncharted asteroid field, setting off a collision alarm. The Pilot must make a DC 15 Pilot check to Avoid Collision with a Gargantuan piece of debris; the DC increases by 2 for each round between the alarm sounding and the Pilot check.

15-18

The Starship enters an area of high radiation, causing the sensors to report false contacts (And dropping the ship out of Hyperspace to avoid a Collision). The Starship's navigator must plot a new course out of the radiation field, with a -5 penalty on the Use Computer check.

19-20

The Starship passes through an unexpected gravity field, causing structural stress. The Starship's Armor bonus is reduced by 2 until all Persistent Conditions are removed.

15-19

MAJOR (D20 ROLL)

1-6

The Starship encounters a dense, uncharted asteroid field, setting off a collision alarm. The Pilot must make a DC 15 Pilot check to Avoid Collision with a Colossal piece of debris; the DC increases by 5 for each round between the alarm sounding and the Pilot check.

7-10

The Starship passes through a superdense, uncharted dust cloud, clogging sensors and communications equipment. The Use Sensors application of the Use Computer Skill takes a -5 penalty for every square between the user and the sensor target (Instead of the usual -5 per 10 squares penalty).

11-13

The Starship encounters another Starship's dumped cargo, setting off a collision alarm. The Pilot must make a DC 15 Pilot check to Avoid Collision with a Huge piece of debris; the DC increases by 1 for each round between the alarm sounding and the Pilot check. If the Pilot avoids the Collision, the cargo might be salvageable, it consists of 10d10 tons of cargo, each with a value of 10d10x10 credits.

14-15

The Starship encounters a Colossal vessel with a disabled Hyperdrive, setting off a collision alarm. The Pilot must make a DC 15 Pilot check to Avoid Collision; the DC increases by 5 for each round between the alarm sounding and the Pilot check. At the Gamemaster's discretion, the crew of the other vessel might be alive and in need of assistance (Or helpless to prevent being boarded and plundered).

16-17

The Starship skirts the edge of a black hole, causing the intense gravity to warp the vessel's structural integrity. The Starship's Armor bonus is reduced by 5 until all Persistent Conditions are removed.

18-19

The Starship flies through a superdense cluster of stars, the stress of which causes the Hyperdrive to burn up. The Starship's Hyperdrive is disabled and requires a DC 30 Mechanics check to repair to a Class 15.

20

The Starship nearly collides with a massive gas giant, corroding the ship's hull plating and causing the ship to take an additional 10% of it's total Hit Points in damage.

When the heroes have a space encounter, the effects should be dealt with in one of several ways. Under the rules for Hyperspace Hazards (See Astrogation) in the Saga Edition Core Rulebook, the ship takes damage and moves down the Condition Track with a Persistent Condition. Under normal rules, the Hit Points can be restored and the Condition can be removed with an hour's work and a Mechanics check. Some of the Space Travel Hazards listed above also have their own skill checks associated with them.

Alternatively, the Gamemaster can require that the effects of the Hazards cannot be dealt with except by a more challenging skill check or a series of skill checks, and Gamemasters should feel free to use the sample skill DCs (See Job Generator) to determine the difficulty of clearing the effects of the Hazard. As a general rule, Minor Hazards should use the Medium DCs, Moderate Hazards should use the Moderate DCs, and Major Hazards should use the Hard DCs.

For example, when a ship passes through an uncharted dust cloud, the GM can call for a Use Computer check to calibrate the ships sensors; alternatively, the GM could require a hero to physically leave the ship and clean the sensors manually, which could involve Acrobatics or Climb checks to perform the task in Zero-Gravity.